For the fourth time in a month and the third time in every week, Chicago police are once more warning residents a few surge in airbag thefts carried out by organized crews which might be zeroing in on Honda Civics parked throughout town.
One group of thieves hammered lakefront neighborhoods this week, in accordance with CPD, whereas posts on neighborhood social media recommend the true scope of the issue could also be far bigger than what seems in official police alerts.
“BE ALERT!” an Irving Park resident wrote on the Ring Community over the weekend. “My automobile acquired damaged into, air bag was stolen! If anyone has any info or if their cameras picked up something please let me know!! Occurred between final evening and this early morning.”
The surging thefts replicate a nationwide pattern that has been constructing for a number of years. The Nationwide Insurance coverage Crime Bureau estimates that about 50,000 airbags are stolen nationwide annually, pushed largely by the hole between the price of manufacturing facility alternative components and the worth of stolen airbags on the black market.
In line with the bureau, a manufacturing facility alternative airbag usually prices about $1,000. Against this, stolen airbags usually promote for a fraction of that worth. A evaluate of Fb Market listings within the Chicago space exhibits an array of Honda airbags marketed for between $120 and $400 apiece.
Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, CPD stated, a crew struck alongside the lakefront close to Wrigleyville and in Uptown, focusing on late-model Hondas parked within the 3900 block of North Recreation Drive and the 4300 and 4700 blocks of North Marine Drive. In every case, thieves smashed home windows and eliminated steering wheel airbags, police stated.
Investigators imagine that the spree concerned one or two males sporting jumpsuits who might have been driving a pink Ford F-150 and a black GMC pickup truck bearing supplier plates that have been reported stolen.
Police say the identical crew has been lively for weeks. CPD linked them to airbag thefts on December 21 and 22 within the 800 block of West sixteenth Road and the 900 block of West 18th Road. The group additionally focused autos in Bucktown within the 2200 block of West McLean Avenue on December 21 and 22 and within the 2000 block of West Armitage Avenue on January 14 and 15. Further thefts attributed to the crew occurred in Tri-Taylor between January 15 and January 17 within the 2300 block of West Flournoy Avenue.
A separate crew focused Honda Civics between January 5 and January 15 in Hyde Park, hanging within the 5100 and 5300 blocks of South Dorchester Avenue and South Shore Drive, in accordance with an earlier CPD group alert.
Police are urging Honda homeowners to make use of Membership-style anti-theft units that lock onto the steering wheel and canopy the airbag space, a step CPD says can discourage thieves on the lookout for fast targets.
Honda autos have change into frequent targets partially due to the model’s recognition, which fuels robust demand for alternative components in each reputable restore channels and unlawful markets, in accordance with legislation enforcement officers and auto physique store operators.
The surge in thefts has triggered a cascade of issues for victims. Auto physique outlets report lengthy backlogs for reputable alternative airbags, with delays that may stretch for weeks and even months. Business sources say these delays have pushed some annoyed homeowners to show to the identical black market economic system that originally victimized them.
The Nationwide Insurance coverage Crime Bureau has warned that some dishonest restore outlets have put in stolen airbags whereas charging clients for manufacturing facility replacements, compounding the chance for drivers who might not notice their autos include unsafe or improperly sourced components.
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